Linux Kernel up to 6.18.6/6.19-rc5 IPv4 lib/dump_stack.c rt6_uncached_list_del use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.6/6.19-rc5. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function rt6_uncached_list_del in the library lib/dump_stack.c of the component IPv4. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-23004. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.6/6.19-rc5 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function rt6_uncached_list_del in the library lib/dump_stack.c of the component IPv4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dst: fix races in rt6_uncached_list_del() and rt_del_uncached_list() syzbot was able to crash the kernel in rt6_uncached_list_flush_dev() in an interesting way [1] Crash happens in list_del_init()/INIT_LIST_HEAD() while writing list->prev, while the prior write on list->next went well. static inline void INIT_LIST_HEAD(struct list_head *list) { WRITE_ONCE(list->next, list); // This went well WRITE_ONCE(list->prev, list); // Crash, @list has been freed. } Issue here is that rt6_uncached_list_del() did not attempt to lock ul->lock, as list_empty(&rt->dst.rt_uncached) returned true because the WRITE_ONCE(list->next, list) happened on the other CPU. We might use list_del_init_careful() and list_empty_careful(), or make sure rt6_uncached_list_del() always grabs the spinlock whenever rt->dst.rt_uncached_list has been set. A similar fix is neeed for IPv4. [1] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in INIT_LIST_HEAD include/linux/list.h:46 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in list_del_init include/linux/list.h:296 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rt6_uncached_list_flush_dev net/ipv6/route.c:191 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rt6_disable_ip+0x633/0x730 net/ipv6/route.c:5020 Write of size 8 at addr ffff8880294cfa78 by task kworker/u8:14/3450 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 3450 Comm: kworker/u8:14 Tainted: G L syzkaller #0 PREEMPT_{RT,(full)} Tainted: [L]=SOFTLOCKUP Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/25/2025 Workqueue: netns cleanup_net Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x150 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xca/0x240 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0x118/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:595 INIT_LIST_HEAD include/linux/list.h:46 [inline] list_del_init include/linux/list.h:296 [inline] rt6_uncached_list_flush_dev net/ipv6/route.c:191 [inline] rt6_disable_ip+0x633/0x730 net/ipv6/route.c:5020 addrconf_ifdown+0x143/0x18a0 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3853 addrconf_notify+0x1bc/0x1050 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:-1 notifier_call_chain+0x19d/0x3a0 kernel/notifier.c:85 call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:2268 [inline] call_netdevice_notifiers net/core/dev.c:2282 [inline] netif_close_many+0x29c/0x410 net/core/dev.c:1785 unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0xb50/0x2330 net/core/dev.c:12353 ops_exit_rtnl_list net/core/net_namespace.c:187 [inline] ops_undo_list+0x3dc/0x990 net/core/net_namespace.c:248 cleanup_net+0x4de/0x7b0 net/core/net_namespace.c:696 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3257 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xad1/0x1770 kernel/workqueue.c:3340 worker_thread+0x8a0/0xda0 kernel/workqueue.c:3421 kthread+0x711/0x8a0 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x510/0xa50 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:246 </TASK> Allocated by task 803: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:57 [inline] kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:78 unpoison_slab_object mm/kasan/common.c:340 [inline] __kasan_slab_alloc+0x6c/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:366 kasan_slab_alloc include/linux/kasan.h:253 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4953 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:5263 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x18d/0x6c0 mm/slub.c:5270 dst_alloc+0x105/0x170 net/core/dst.c:89 ip6_dst_alloc net/ipv6/route.c:342 [inline] icmp6_dst_alloc+0x75/0x460 net/ipv6/route.c:3333 mld_sendpack+0x683/0xe60 net/ipv6/mcast.c:1844 mld_send_cr net/ipv6/mcast.c:2154 [inline] mld_ifc_work+0x83e/0xd60 net/ipv6/mcast.c:2693 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3257 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xad1/0x1770 kernel/workqueue.c:3340 worker_thread+0x8a0/0xda0 kernel/workqueue.c:3421 kthread+0x711/0x8a0 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x510/0xa50 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entr ---truncated---

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-23004 since 01/13/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/27/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 296531 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-23004), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.18.7 or 6.19-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 722de945216144af7cd4d39bdeb936108d2595a7/9a6f0c4d5796ab89b5a28a890ce542344d58bd69 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (296531), EUVD (EUVD-2026-4614) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0215). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.19-rc1
• 6.19-rc2
• 6.19-rc3
• 6.19-rc4
• 6.19-rc5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

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CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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